Tag Archives: healthcare

Opinion writer Tim Zelina says Issue 2 makes no sense. As healthcare costs across the country continue to rise dramatically in states like Ohio, governments across the nation are scrambling to control the damage. Some locals have taken inspiration from our Western pals with Issue 2, a proposal to require the State to purchase pharmaceuticals for no more than the …

Editor’s Note: This is the third in a three-part series about Ohio’s heroin crisis. A symptom of a larger disease, opioid abuse and pharmaceutical abuse have ravaged the Midwest — and people are finally waking up to it. The path out of addiction twists and turns, and it is littered with obstacles. The National Institute on Drug Abuse puts …

In the rocky world of foreign policy, building global relationships is a necessary precursor to success. It’s time, then, to stop viewing USAID as valueless charity and instead recognize it for what it is: a wise and principled investment. The Trump Administration has signaled that USAID is on its way to the chopping block. The State Department and foreign aid is expected …

Editor’s Note: This is the second in a three-part series about Ohio’s heroin crisis. A symptom of a larger disease, opioid abuse and pharmaceutical abuse have ravaged the Midwest — and people are finally waking up to it. Opioids have ravaged families and communities with increasing frequency over the past few years, as Southeast Ohio has witnessed first-hand. Ironically, one …

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a three-part series about Ohio’s heroin crisis. A symptom of a larger disease, opioid abuse and pharmaceutical abuse have ravaged the Midwest — and people are finally waking up to it. Ohio: where a state in the throes of addiction experienced a staggering 13 percent increase in opioid overdoses just from 2014 to …

Ohio Rep. Jay Edwards, R-Nelsonville, introduced a bill this week aimed at fighting Ohio’s opioid crisis through prescription drug reform. House Bill 167, introduced by Edwards at a Wednesday press conference, would limit the dosage of prescription opioids for acute pain that physicians can prescribe. This would require physicians to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines that suggest …

Montgomery County in Southwest Ohio has seen a staggering increase in fatal overdoses since the start of 2017 — an influx so severe the county coroner’s office briefly ran out of room for additional bodies. “I have not experienced anything like this in my career,” said Montgomery County Coroner’s Office Director Ken Betz, who noted the office sent the extra …

By the numbers: Trump cabinet confirmations: 6 Number of tech companies against Trump immigration order: 99 Final vote confirming Betsy DeVos: 51 – 50 Appeals Court Hearing Live stream archive Today, three appellate judges from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments pertaining to President Donald Trump’s immigration ban. Two of the judges were former President George …

President Donald Trump shared a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, their first contact with Trump in his official capacity as president. The political bromance between the two was sparked much earlier, however, and poses a grave threat to U.S. interest. While the call shared between the two leaders is of little importance by itself — it …

Gov. John Kasich released his two-year budget proposal for Ohio on Monday, saying he hopes his final budget will help Ohio maintain economic growth in the face of national uncertainty. The new budget, which allocates more than $144 billion over two years, is slightly larger than the previous one. However, Kasich said in his press conference that some areas would …

Editor’s note: This is a featured writer’s first hand account of the Ohio Women’s March that took place in Columbus on Sunday. Walking over the bridge that crosses the Scioto River, the congregation was met with cold air. It chilled their lungs and turned their faces a shade of pink that matched the hats on many women’s heads and the signs …

Thousands of women from all over Ohio gathered in Columbus on Sunday to protest the impending presidency of Donald Trump. The Ohio Women’s March, a state-specific offset of the Women’s March on Washington that will be held on Saturday in Washington D.C., provided an opportunity for women who wanted their voices heard but were unable to attend the national march. …

President-elect Donald Trump ran much of his campaign on the promise of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act of 2010, commonly known as “Obamacare.” This was in line with the Republicans’ strategy and House Speaker Paul Ryan’s own proposal dubbed The Patients’ Choice Act. Trump has broken down his plans into three points beyond repealing Obamacare and implementing Ryan’s …

City Council said at its committee meeting Monday it will write a letter to state legislators urging them to oppose an amendment by AT&T that would allow a wireless antenna to be put on any municipal buildings, and introduced a resolution to oppose the Dakota Access pipeline. The council will send a letter to state Sen. Lou Gentile, D-30th District, …

The government shouldn’t tell me what makeup to buy. Or should it? We regulate what we put into our body, why not what we put on our body? In a 2008 report by the Environmental Working Group, 22 percent of all cosmetic/personal care products may contain some kind of carcinogen. One common type of carcinogen is 1,4-dioxane, which may be …

Americans spend a lot on health care. So much so, in fact, that in 2014 the United States spent nearly 18 percent of its gross domestic product on healthcare, almost double the global 10 percent average. This is largely a result of Americans spending more on specialist and on special procedures, though rapid growth in hospital admissions and cuts to …

Medical marijuana enthusiasts in the Buckeye State have a reason to celebrate this week: House Bill 523 will go into effect Sept. 8, ushering in a new era of medicinal cannabis use in Ohio. The bill authorizes the use of medicinal cannabis for Ohioans who meet the qualifying standards; some qualifying medical conditions include cancer, AIDS, and Parkinson’s disease. Patients …

In the age of globalized communications, it’s often easy to overlook just how isolated our media sources are. With the rise of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter and the continued dominance of the mass media by well-equipped corporations such as CNN and 21st Century Fox, one might assume that the breadth of options available for your typical …

The Period Project had its first meeting of the semester Tuesday to discuss goals for the upcoming months, which include increased accessibility to products in university buildings. Maddie Sloat, a sophomore studying communication in the Honors Tutorial College, founded the club last semester. The Period Project is a service and activist organization that works to raise awareness about the issues and stigma …

A secular state entails a state that is officially neutral in matters of religion. I am going to look at how states are truly affected by religion and if this a popular phenomenon of if states embracing the concept of secularism. The U.S. claims to be a secular nation, with the citizens being able to freely make decisions on religion …

A bill giving workers paid maternity and medical leave was introduced in the Ohio House at the beginning of April, expanding benefits available to employees taking time off work. The Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program, which the bill would create if passed, would allow workers to continue being paid a portion of their salary when taking leave from work …

The Health Resources and Services Administration awarded $7.5 million in funding to the Ohio Department of Health to support the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program on Friday. Also known as the Federal Home Visiting Program, this is part of President Obama’s Early Learning Initiative, which is controlled by HRSA. According to an HSRA press release, the Federal …

City Council further discussed consideration for a recycling grant from The Recycling Partnership at last night’s meeting. Councilmember Ken Butler, D-4th Ward, introduced an ordinance to purchase 64 gallon recycling containers to better accommodate the single-stream recycling program, a recent change in the recycling process that allows for unsorted recyclables. The larger containers would replace the current 18 gallon size, …

Access to abortion is a topic about which many people are passionate. This issue has always mattered, but it receives even more attention during election years. When anti-choice rhetoric threatens to harm the health and safety of pregnant people everywhere, the time to speak up and to be abortion positive is now. The upcoming Abortion Positive rally on Thursday, April …

The Natural Resources Conservation Service announced Monday that the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service distributed $41 million for programs to fight the toxic algae in Lake Erie. According to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Lake Erie was covered with surface scum, but the toxins were not detected at the public water system in the lake in 2011. By 2014, according …

If Marion Nestle could impart any lasting knowledge on her audience, she would want it to be how larger portions have more calories. “You laugh, but we asked an introductory nutrition class at NYU (New York University) what the difference in calories was between an eight-ounce soda and a sixty-four ounce soda,” Nestle said. “The average multiplier should have been …

U.S. Senate: One of Ohio’s two Senate seats is up for grabs in the March 15 primary. The front-runners in this election are incumbent Republican Rob Portman and former governor and congressman Democrat Ted Strickland. Six others are also running, including two Independent candidates and one from the Green Party. According to polling data from RealClearPolitics, Strickland is currently up …

Watch the OU College Democrats and the OU College Republicans go head-to-head in the Ohio University political debate! The members will discuss current national and international topics. A voter registration drive will also occur before and after the event. Use #OUDebates to submit questions during the debate.

The Ohio House passed House Bill 325 on Feb. 23. Also known as “Maiden’s Law,” the bill would require certain health care professionals to offer drug treatment to mothers with drug addictions. This bill, which was originally introduced in September by Rep. Doug Green, R-Mt. Orab, and Rep. Sean O’Brien, D-Bazetta, also states that a child services agency cannot file …

Ohio Gov. John Kasich has signed a bill Sunday to pull state and federal funds from any clinic that performs or promotes abortions, i.e. Planned Parenthood. This is not as bad as it seems. Ohio did not close Planned Parenthood; the funding was merely redirected to other clinics to provide similar services. There are two major affiliates of Planned Parenthood …

Republicans have been trying to backtrack on the Affordable Care Act since President Obama signed it into law in 2010; If the right side of the race wins the election this fall, they plan on doing just that. The Scene for 2016’s Bianca Hillier has the details. EDITOR’S NOTE: Video and page have been edited for grammatical mistakes.

The infamous “Pharma Bro,” Martin Shkreli, who went viral half a year ago when he raised the price of the AIDS drug Daraprim by over 4,000 percent, made headlines once again last week as he stood in front of a congressional hearing and pled the Fifth. It was a spectacle. The only question to which he responded with more than …

Starting next month, CVS Health Corp. will no longer require a prescription for naloxone, a reversal antidote used to treat opioid overdoses. White House National Drug Control Policy Director Michael Botticelli, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Lucas County Sheriff John Tharp announced the change Monday. A program called Deaths Avoided With Naloxone was also created in 2014 to educate …

If you wanted to work out last week, you had to first consider getting swabbed. Upon entering the Ping Center between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday last week, anyone looking to exercise was greeted by a horde of students wearing “Got Swabbed?” T-shirts. They were ushered toward a table covered in red wristbands, stickers, information packets and, …

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine awarded over $1.2 million in grants to campus sexual assault and rape crisis centers across the state in late December. After the attorney general’s office reviewed applications, the first round of grants was announced. According to Dan Tierney, a spokesperson for the Ohio Attorney General’s office, more awards could be announced either in a second …

The American Civil Liberties Union investigated jails and their policies and is now trying to improve former inmates’ lives by ending and finding alternatives for pay-to-stay jail fees. According to a report that details the ACLU’s findings in 75 Ohio facilities, pay-to-stay fees, or the costs that inmates pay while in jail, are creating debt that offenders cannot afford. The …

Debate over fracking from Athens residents across the political spectrum was cut short Wednesday when police had to end a meeting with officials from the Bureau of Land Management. The forum was originally set up as an informational gathering for citizens to further learn about potential hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the forest, but those on both side of the …

Ohio University announced Wednesday that Inya Baiye, the Title IX Coordinator for the university, resigned from her position earlier this month and will be accepting a position at a different university. According to an email sent to the Ohio University community, Baiye, who also served as the director of the Office of Equity and Civil Rights Compliance, resigned on Nov. …

Fans of the film ‘Back To the Future’ will be disappointed to hear that members of Athens City Council might ban hoverboards in lieu of keeping Athens’ congested walkways clear for pedestrians. “What they are, are wheelie things that are like from ‘Back to the Future,’ but really by ordinance they should be banned,” Service Safety Director Paula Horan-Moseley said. …

Carolyn Bailey Lewis, a media arts and studies professor at Ohio University, asked everyone in the room to close their eyes and imagine they were paralyzed on their bathroom floor. What would they do? This is her story. She experienced persistent, aching pain in her arms and back for months. One day, she collapsed. The doctors told her husband she …

On Wednesday, Senate Bill 214 passed in the Ohio Senate, which would prevent state funds and certain federal funds from being used toward performing abortions. The bill, originally introduced by Senate President Keith Faber, R-Celina, passed in a 23-10 vote. SB 214 would not allow funds to be used to perform or promote abortions unless the mother’s life is in …

Athens residents that attended the Homecoming Parade the morning of Oct. 10 may have noticed a surprise marcher. Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland walked with the Ohio University College Democrats to promote his campaign for the U.S. Senate. Strickland visited Athens just two weeks earlier for a campaign event at The Pigskin on Court Street. The New Political reporter Austin …

The Ohio University Graduate Student Senate voted to boycott all presidential and university standing committees during Monday’s meeting, demanding answers from President Roderick McDavis on the relevance of the General Fee to graduate students. The resolution, which was passed by a vote of 14-9, was a response to a recent campaign from the senate and the Ohio University Graduate Workers …

Students stripped down and marched up Mill Street this Friday, covered in lipstick-clad messages and picket signs addressing rape culture on Ohio University’s campus. Onlookers could feel the electricity in the air as students gathered at the bottom of Jeff Hill for the third annual F–kRapeCulture (FRC) March. Before hitting the streets, however, co-founder Claire Chadwick addressed the crowd and …

Representatives from the League of Women Voters of Athens County held an open forum Tuesday to discuss the organization’s standing on this year’s issues for the November ballot. According to their mission statement, the League of Women Voters is a non-partisan organization focused on registering people to vote and informing voters about candidates and issues while promoting a sense of …

An act aimed at ending drug overdoses cleanly jumped a hurdle recently after Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and attorney generals from 36 other states, plus the District of Columbia, urged the leadership of the U.S. Senate and House Committee on the Judiciary to pass it. The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2015 (CARA) was sponsored by U.S. Sen. …

Marijuana legalization will appear on the November 2015 ballot as Issue 3. However, the Ohio Supreme Court has determined that the current language on the ballot, supported by members of the political action committee Responsible Ohioans for Cannabis, is misleading in four areas and needs to be changed. Ian James, ResponsibleOhio’s executive director, believes that the revisions that will be …

As football fans packed into Peden Stadium on Saturday, the Ohio University Graduate Student Senate and the Ohio University Graduate Workers Party held their first protest in front of the stadium. The attendees, composed of around 40 people, were protesting against multiple facets of graduate student life at OU. Such topics included the $9,000 median stipend graduate assistants get per …

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The New Political is an award-winning, independent publication run entirely by Ohio University students. A digital-first outlet, it is solely dedicated to covering politics and government on campus, in the city of Athens and in the state of Ohio. The New Political seeks to educate and empower the public as an independent voice for Athens.